Don't Cry
by Angelic Rosethorn
Summary: Entire Story Updated & Now Complete! Severus sees a mysterious woman on the school grounds and falls for her in spite of himself. However, her identity may not be as mysterious as he thought. My first SH fic enjoy!
1. A Woman By Moonlight

Disclaimer: The characters and setting do not belong to me, because they belong to J.K. Rowling.

A/N: Ok, I started this a million years ago, and just when I was getting to the good part, I lost all inclination to finish the story. I don't know why – I just couldn't finish it for some reason. Then the new books came out and everything has dramatically changed. So, I decided to take it upon myself to completely change the story to better fit the new books and finally finish it so that it doesn't plague me anymore that I left it hanging.

Obviously, this being a Snape/Hermione fic, Snape has to still be alive, so he is. That's the main thing that's different from the books, I think. Also, I have no idea who the new headmaster is, and I don't want to get it wrong, so I just refer to him as "the headmaster". I might have missed a few other minor details though, so please bear in mind that the bulk of this story WAS written a million years ago :-) Enjoy!

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Don't Cry – Chapter 1

By, Angelic Rosethorn

A young woman sat on a rock overlooking the lake in the moonlight. The long rope of her braided brown hair hung down her back, bared by the black halter-top she wore. She sat there, just staring pensively at the body of water before her. She seemed utterly at peace, but her mind was actually whirling. The students would be arriving tomorrow and she wasn't sure she was ready to teach. Harry had told her she could do it, but she just couldn't stop worrying. She had only been a student herself a scant two years before and now she was taking on the yet-again open position as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

She thought about the last year. Of course, she had brought her parents home after the final battle and spent much-needed time with them. They were really the only family she had. After a few months with her parents - blissfully cut off from most of the wizarding world, recovering from the tragedies of her Seventh Year – she had received a surprise visit from none other than Ron Weasley. He had stayed with her and they basically picked up where they had left off, more in love than ever. Then, suddenly, she found herself with a ring on her finger and a wedding that was fast approaching. How had it all happened so fast, she wondered. Everything was going just fine, and then all of a sudden people were talking about her having CHILDREN. Bloody hell, she was too young have children. That conversation between her mother and future mother-in-law had been the final straw. She couldn't do it. She just wasn't ready to get married.

She tried to tell Ron; tried to make him see reason, but all he could see was that she didn't want to marry HIM, not that she simply wasn't ready to be married. In typical Ron fashion, he tried to win her over, but soon grew frustrated with her negative responses to his efforts. He just didn't understand that she wasn't going to change her mind, no matter how many boxes of sweets he brought her. Finally, he became fed-up and they had the worst fight they had ever had. There was screaming, crying, more screaming, and finally Ron's dramatic exit from her life. She had spent weeks in her old bedroom, crying away all the pain, more shut off from the world than ever. Finally, though reluctant to get involved, Harry came to her, determined to bring her back into the wizarding world. 

Harry was more of a celebrity than ever, but rarely left the Burrow most of the year. Most people thought it was to comfort Ron from his broken engagement, but Hermione knew it was to be as close to Ginny as possible. Soon, however, he would be starting a job in the ministry. Of course, most people wanted to make him Minister of Magic for his heroics, but he turned them down. He decided instead to do what he'd always wanted and become an Auror. And what could the people say? After all, who but the slayer of the darkest wizard known would be better suited to the job? She wished he could be here now to give her some pointers, but he was far too busy getting his new home in order and getting his own impending nuptials underway. It was supposed to have been a double wedding, but of course now that wasn't going to happen, thanks to her stupid feelings of doubt.

Unconsciously, she hugged her arms to herself, rubbing her shoulders against the cold inside. She was so afraid of tomorrow; she wished someone were there to tell her that everything would be okay and that everyone would like her. A few tears fell down her face before she even noticed them. She gently reached up and brushed them off. That was when she decided to try and sleep. The only thing worse than being too nervous in her first class was being too tired on top of that. She stood gracefully, her long black skirt flowing around her, and began to glide across the grounds toward the school.

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Severus Snape looked out from the tower above the grounds and saw a most enchanting sight by the lake. A woman was sitting so peacefully, staring at the water. Her back was to him, and he itched to grab one of the many telescopes around him to see her up-close. As he was about to give in to the temptation, he saw her wrap her arms around herself. More astonishing was when she seemed to wipe her eyes. He frowned to see such a graceful and serene woman so upset. He wasn't sure why, but he had the insane urge to go down and comfort her. Then she stood and began to head toward the school.

He had never regretted returning to his home for the summer holiday as much as he did now. If he had only stayed, he would know who this person was. As it was, he'd only arrived merely hours ago. The new headmaster wanted to speak with him after his arrival, but he'd opted to postpone it until the morning. He wanted to make a visit to one of his favorite places in the school, the tower. Sometimes the dungeons were just too confining. He liked being able to breathe fresh air into his lungs once and awhile and see the outside world. Plus, the view was fantastic. Even more so tonight, he thought to himself. Yes, he would have to have that talk with the headmaster tomorrow morning so that he could discover the identity of that mysterious woman.


	2. The New Professor

Disclaimer: All right, I own nothing of this story, other than the plot. The rest is J.K. Rowling's.

Don't Cry - Chapter 2

By, Angelic Rosethorn

"The new professor this year is WHOM?!" Snape practically yelled at the headmaster.

"Calm down, Professor. It's nothing to get excited about. You know as well as I do that she was one of the most excellent students this school has ever had. Top marks in her studies and outstanding O.W.L scores. There were only two applicants for the position, and she was by far the most qualified," the headmaster said, trying to placate the man before him.

"But, she's practically still a child," he said, still unconvinced that the decision had been a wise one.

"You know my answer to that, Professor. She has always been far more mature than most in her year. She is perfectly capable of holding the position, and you well know it," he replied, seeing that Snape was finally beginning to calm down and see reason.

"Well, I suppose time will give us the answer to that," he said, defeated. He was right. If anyone could excel at teaching that class, it would be Hermione Granger, he thought grudgingly. Even if she was a Gryffindor. He rose from his chair in disgust and left the office without another word. It was only when he was halfway to the Great Hall to get some food that he realized that in his shock, he'd forgotten to ask the headmaster who the mysterious woman wandering the school grounds was. Mentally he kicked himself for so easily forgetting what had kept him awake most of the night. Oh well, perhaps she would be at breakfast. Then he could discover her identity for himself.

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Hermione woke to the sound of a screeching owl outside her open window. Groggily, she glanced at her clock on her bedside table in her private apartments. When she saw the time, she leaped out of her bed in a panic. Her first class began in less than half an hour! She would have no time for breakfast today, she thought, dismayed. Her stomach was already growling in regret for not eating enough at supper the night before. She quickly threw on the first clothes she saw: the outfit she had worn the evening before. It's not as if anyone will know the difference anyway, with these robes over it and everything, she reflected absently as she hastily unbraided her long hair and brushed through it.

With skilled fingers, she deftly parted her hair down the middle and began to create two neat braids. On her way out of the room, she remembered to grab her new bag containing her teaching supplies. If she went quickly enough, perhaps she could make a quick visit to the house-elves and get a muffin before class started.

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All through breakfast, Severus waited for the woman from the night before to appear in the Great Hall. Surely she had to eat something. However, as the minutes went by, he grew more frustrated than ever and finally just decided to get ready for his first Potions class: second-year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. He shuddered at the very thought of their incompetence.

He couldn't stand anyone who didn't understand the delicacies of the art of potion making. As a whole, Hufflepuffs were generally the worst at comprehending any of it. Ravenclaws were a bit better at the theory because of their natural intelligence, but when it came to the hands-on process, they were every bit as dismal as the Hufflepuffs. Slytherins seemed to have a better grasp of making the potions, but grading their scrolls on the theories was sometimes pure torture. However, a Slytherin himself, he sympathized with them more. After all, most of the other professors seemed to naturally dislike those students because the Dark Lord and most of his Death Eaters, himself included, had risen from their house.

He absolutely hated Gryffindors with a passion, partially because of the favoritism shown to them by almost every single professor in the school. The other part was more personal. The cruelty he had suffered at the hands of those stupid "Marauders" as they liked to call themselves had left a very lasting impression. Not to mention the fiasco with the only love of his life, Lily. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't shake the loathing he felt toward James and his friends, even after everything was over. Of course, there were a few Gryffindors he had tolerated, perhaps because of their quick wit, or their complete lack of self-absorbance. Bill and Charlie Weasley were at the top of his list, followed closely by a few others in their years. After that, there weren't really any more students from that house that had shown any promise, until Hermione Granger.

She was so brilliant and talented at every aspect of potion making, that he truly expected her to go far in his class. Then she had shown the pathetic tendency to hang around the celebrity son of the man Severus had grown to hate above all things. Later on, she had even become engaged to Potter's pathetic friend. The thought made him almost physically sick. Now here she was again, only this time a professor herself. He couldn't wait to see what happened.

As he entered his classroom in the dungeons to await the students, his mind wandered back to the previous evening. Had the woman just been a figment of his imagination? Had he merely been dreaming? No, he reassured himself, he wasn't in the habit of having hallucinations, even after the torment his mind had gone through as a Death Eater. No, she was real, and he intended to find her.

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Hermione hurried down the corridor to her classroom. There was already a small crowd gathered around the door. She recognized a few of the fifth-year Gryffindors and a few of the Ravenclaws from two years before. Some of their older siblings had even been in that last fight against Voldemort. She had fervently wished that her first class would contain first or second-years, because then at least she wouldn't be performing in front of people who knew her. However, there was nothing to be done about it, so she took a deep breath and opened the door to the room and watched the students file in, chatting quietly amongst themselves. Every once and awhile they would look up at her conspicuously, making her even more nervous because they were obviously talking about her.

At the beginning of the class, she began to write on the chalkboard what was going to be expected of them and what she planned to cover in the class. Halfway through however, the chalk broke in her hand. Irritated, she pulled out her wand and repaired the offending chalk. She then proceeded to write another line or two before, unbelievably, it broke again. Slightly blushing at the quiet giggles from the students, she repaired it again. After that, however, her hand was shaking so badly that it wasn't long before the chalk clattered to the floor in about ten different pieces. She briefly covered her face with her hand, forgetting about the chalk dust she had acquired on her fingers.

When she pulled her hand away, the tittering around the classroom became full-fledged laughter. Hermione was at a loss for a moment until one of the Ravenclaws spoke up.

"Professor," the girl said, "Your face." She said, pointing.

Hermione looked at her hand, horrified. Quickly, she wiped her face with the sleeve of her robes, and stooped over to retrieve the pieces of the rogue chalk. Things were not getting off to a very good start. As she stood, her elbow knocked into her bottle of ink and it promptly spilled all over her paper-strewn desk. She made a noise of pure frustration and used a spell to clean it up. Her face was now bright red with humiliation and she felt like she was going to cry. This was turning out to be one of the worst days of her life. When the laughter subsided, she gave her notes aloud to the students so they could at least finish copying down the basics of what was expected. Then she dismissed them to their common rooms. She simply couldn't face their laughing faces for an entire hour.


	3. The Mystery Revealed

Disclaimer: I own nothing, yada yada yada.

Don't Cry – Chapter 3

By, Angelic Rosethorn

Severus walked back to his classroom to collect one of the flasks containing his special sleeping draught. After getting such little sleep the night before, he wasn't taking any chances that thoughts of Her would keep him awake all night. He wondered how Hermione Granger would sleep, given her disastrous first day. His Slytherins had informed him gleefully that she hadn't managed to have one uneventful class all day. She'd done her sample spells incorrectly, broken her chalk repeatedly, spilled ink everywhere, given the wrong assignments, read the wrong lessons, and stumbled over every other word she said. By the end of the day, they'd told him, she was practically in tears.

While he did feel sorry for the poor girl, he felt a certain amount of satisfaction that he'd been right. She was too young and inexperienced to be a teacher. Abruptly, he reached the classroom and was instantly on his guard. The door sat partially open.

He drew out his wand and silently opened the door the rest of the way. His mouth dropped open at what he saw. The mystery woman was sitting at one of the tables with her back to him, thoroughly engrossed in one of the advanced potion books that lined the walls. Was it possible that she enjoyed potions as much as he did? Suddenly, his heartbeat increased as he noticed the delicate arch of her bared back and the gentle slope of her smooth neck. She was wearing the same clothing as the night before. Up close, she looked more magnificent in it than she had from afar. He was bombarded with images of what it would be like to allow his lips to trail over the creamy skin of her shoulders. To move his fingertips slowly down her spine and watch her shiver. He found himself wanting to release her endless hair from its confining braids and run his fingers through it to see if it was as soft and silky as it looked.

Dear God, was this possible? He'd certainly seen his share of beautiful women in his day, but only one had ever remotely interested him. This reaction in him was just unheard of. Even with Lily, his feelings had started from a deep and long friendship with the girl. This was starting from… well, nowhere. He'd never even met this woman. Never even seen her face.

Well, he planned to remedy that now. First, however, he had to find a way to let her know he was there without seeming to sneak up on her. Quietly, he cleared his throat. Well, that didn't work; she nearly jumped out of her skin before whirling around to stare right at him with a frightened expression.

Severus frowned slightly; she looked vaguely familiar. Then everything fell into place and the answer hit him like a ton of bricks. Granger! All along, the mysterious woman had been Granger! Disappointment filled him and then quickly turned to anger.

"What do you think you're doing in here?" he said, glaring at her. She had no right to come into his classroom. . . Except, she did. She was a professor now as well; he had to remember that when he spoke to her.

She finally spoke up, "I'm so sorry, Professor Snape! I just. . . I needed to get away for awhile, and I guess this was the most comfortable place to me," she finished, unsure of whether or not he would believe her.

Apparently, he didn't. "Do you really think that I'm stupid? That I would believe that out of the whole school, you would find the DUNGEONS the most comfortable? You really insult my intelligence, Miss Granger," he said, sneering. "So, what were you really doing in here? Looking for a potion to make someone fall in love with you? A potion to make you a competent teacher? Because after today, I would say you definitely need one. I told the headmaster that you couldn't do it, but he didn't listen. Instead, he let you get up in front of everyone and make a complete fool of yourself. Honestly, what made you think you were up to teaching?" he asked cruelly, falling back into his old pattern of berating her without even thinking about it.

However, apparently this time he had gone too far. As he spoke the last sentence, he saw the moment when she couldn't take anymore and began to lose herself to the tears she'd held back all day. He instantly regretted what he'd said. It wasn't as if he meant to actually make her cry; he'd just been cruel for so long that he just didn't know where to draw the line anymore.

She looked at him miserably, tears streaming down her face. Then she spoke, stammering over each word, "Leave me alone." Then she turned and buried her face in her arms on the table, the book forgotten.

Severus looked at the crying woman, uncomfortable. "Look. . . I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have said that." It didn't seem to help. If anything, she was sobbing harder than before. He cursed under his breath. Why did she have to do this to him? She could have yelled at him, could have thrown things at him, but no, of course she had to cry. He hated it when women showed their weakness like this. It made him feel like a real bastard.

He took a deep breath and walked over to her, placing an arm on her bare shoulder. He almost jumped back in surprise at the feel of her skin beneath his hand. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with her. In fact, the problem was that he actually. . . liked it. What the bloody hell was going on here? This was definitely not the time for revelations like this, he thought to himself, and firmly brought his concentration to the situation at hand. "Hermione," he said, and realized that it was the first time he had ever actually addressed her as such. To his annoyance, he found that he liked that as well. Was there anything about her that he didn't like?

"Hermione, I'm sorry, okay? Don't cry," he said. "I'm sure everything will be fine. You were just nervous, that's all." She hadn't yet pulled away from his hand he was surprised to note. Imagine, him, Severus Snape, trying to get a former student to stop crying. How had he gotten into this mess?

She was still sobbing, but not as violently as before. He took that as a good sign and awkwardly put his arm around her shoulders and leaned in closer to her face, tilting her head up to face him.

"I'm sorry for what I said. Now, please, stop crying," he said.

Slowly, the tears stopped as she looked into his eyes and saw real caring in their depths. She hadn't even known he was capable of that emotion, let alone toward her. She reached up to wipe her eyes, and felt herself begin to tremor slightly. His arm was so warm and comforting that she just wanted snuggle up into his embrace and forget all about the whole devastating day. Then she caught herself abruptly. This was Severus Snape she was thinking about, not Ron! He was a professor here for goodness's sake! But then, so was she, a voice whispered in the back of her mind. Not for long if I have anything to do with it, she thought to herself, mentally shushing the voice that would encourage her to think about Snape in any way other than the cold-hearted man who constantly tortured her and her friends throughout their years at Hogwarts.

She pulled slowly away from his arm until he was no longer touching her, and was suddenly aware of the creeping chill in the room. It wasn't long before she was shivering from the cold.

Unfortunately, Snape saw this and frowned. "Where are your robes?" he asked. "These dungeons can be freezing no matter what weather it is outside."

"I didn't think I would be here that long, so I left them in my rooms. Then I guess I just got wrapped up in this book - which does NOT contain anything other than the history and discovery of certain potions, by the way - and totally forgot about the time. That is, until you came in," she added, looking down. "I was telling the truth, you know. I always wanted to be a Potions mistress myself. I really am most comfortable here."

"So, what you're saying is that taking the job I always favored wasn't good enough, but you wanted to take the job that I am stuck with again as well?" Severus asked, falling too easily back into the old pattern again. What was wrong with him? Couldn't he be civil through one conversation? He just couldn't seem to be able to keep his mouth shut.

"No! That's not what I'm saying at all! Aargh! I knew you wouldn't understand!" she yelled angrily. "I'm just saying that maybe you shouldn't just assume that you're the only one in the world who cares about potions! In fact, I'm pretty sure they would have been my passion in school if it weren't for. . ." she quickly trailed off, suddenly remembering who she was talking to.

"If it weren't for what, Miss Granger?" He asked. "If it weren't for your formidable teacher, perhaps?"

She looked down again, suddenly sorry she had spoken at all. He had sort of tried to comfort her, after all. But he could just be so damned exasperating sometimes. Most of the time, in fact. Finally, she just decided to finish what she had been saying.

"Yes and no. You were actually a really great teacher. I learned so much more from you than from most of my other professors. But you were always so hateful and cruel to the Gryffindors that it was impossible to have an even halfway enjoyable class," she said, no longer yelling.

He sighed and ran his hands through his greasy black hair, grimacing at the feel of it. When was the last time he had washed it, anyway? "Look, I don't expect you to understand why I treated you the way that I did, so I'm not even going to try to explain it. I don't know if I COULD explain it if I did try. All you need to know is that it is in the past, and I apologize for what I said tonight. You are a professor, and from now on, I will treat you as such."

"Professor Snape, I –"he cut her off there.

"Call me Severus. Like I said, you are a teacher here, and we tend to call each other by our first names. . . Hermione," he told her, once again, liking the sound of her name on his tongue.

She looked a bit startled at his declaration, but still seemed determined to tell him something. "Severus," she began, horrified by the fact that she knew she was now blushing furiously, just because she was now on a first-name basis with the man, and yet somehow pleased with the way it sounded. "I'm not a professor anymore. Or, at least, I won't be by tomorrow. I just handed in my resignation to the headmaster before I came in here."

This was news that he was not expecting. "Why on earth did you quit?! So you had one bad day. Everyone has bad days once and awhile," he said, just managing not to throttle her for her impetuousness.

"It's more than just the mistakes I made today, although I made enough of them to last me a lifetime. It's the fact that I'm just not confident in my abilities in that area. Harry was always the strongest one at Defense Against the Dark Arts, so I figured that I'd let him handle most of the problems that came up. That pretty much worked, so I didn't have to really learn anything much further than the basics. That subject has never been my passion, and neither has teaching. However, I had no idea what career I was going to take on, so when the headmaster told me about the open position, I figured I would give it a try. Well, I did, and I didn't like it one bit and I'm quitting. No one will change my mind on this one, trust me," she said, realizing that this was the first time she had actually told him anything about her personal life. It definitely felt strange.

Severus didn't reply, but just looked at her for a few long minutes, as though he were trying to make an important decision. Then he briefly closed his eyes like he was bracing himself, and began to speak.

"Being a Potions master is not as easy as it seems," he began. "The class itself is an incredibly difficult task in and of itself. Then you have everyone in the school asking you for this potion or that potion, because no one else here can do it properly. I guess what I'm saying is. . . It's about time that I find myself an assistant. And if you are no longer tied up with a teaching position, I was wondering if you would like to have the job. It won't be easy, by any means. I'd have to train you appropriately and then you would take on about a third of the workload. However, you would get paid as much as you would as a professor. Anyway. . . answer quickly before I come to my senses and rescind the offer," he said, not believing that the words were actually coming out of his mouth. He'd never before had an assistant. He'd never needed one. But he'd seen the passion in her eyes when she talked about potions and couldn't let that go to waste.

"Well. . . yes then," she said, completely taken aback. It was the last thing she had ever expected him to say.

"Good," he said. "Don't let me regret my offer. Now, kindly replace the book you borrowed and get some sleep. It will be a long day tomorrow."

With that, he turned and began walking toward his own chambers, completely forgetting about the sleeping draught he had come for in the first place. When he was safely inside his own bedroom, he sighed with relief. It didn't matter that the mystery woman was Hermione Granger; he was obviously still very attracted to her. This could be dangerous.

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A/N: There, hopefully everyone doesn't think it's too cliché. The S/H pairing has been done so many times that it's hard not to come across that way.


	4. A Special Project

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Nothing, I say! J.K. Rowling is owner of it all!

Don't Cry – Chapter 4

By, Stephanie Harford

As the days went by, Hermione began her training. Amazingly, her knowledge of potions grew by leaps and bounds. She was shocked by how much one needed to know to truly excel at the art. She made many mistakes, much to Snape's obvious annoyance, but she never repeated any of them. Surely this was a sign that she was doing well.

She was also surprised to learn that his private laboratory was connected to the front of the classroom. She had expected a room even more dreary and cold than the classroom, but it was actually a very nice lab. Apparently he liked to make his potions in comfort. There were two large working tables with various drawers for supplies. There were also four large cabinets that spanned the majority of the four walls of the lab. However, there were also some personal touches, like the large rugs and couch at the far end of the lab. He explained to her that once and awhile, when he was particularly busy with a project, he would work through the night, taking only a few short naps on the soft couch. Hermione found herself slowly becoming accustomed to this new work area, and was actually beginning to enjoy it.

In the meantime, the headmaster hired a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. She was surprised to find out that it was actually one of Remus Lupin's werewolf friends, Darius Candebal. Though the parents of the students were still wary of the idea of a werewolf teaching their children, without people like Lucius Malfoy making a big fuss, there were no threats to remove students from the school.

One day, after their evening meal, the headmaster called both Severus and Hermione to his office to discuss some important project. When they arrived, he waved off their questions and began to give them a bit of background information.

After Voldemort had first terrorized the wizarding world, a group of old masters had a breakthrough in their research for speeding along the recovery of patients suffering under the long-term effects of the Cruciatus Curse. St. Mungo's hospital and many others like it were filled with men and women who were no longer in their right minds as a result of the vigorous torture inflicted by the Death Eaters.

Dumbledore had been interested in this completed research and so had kept all of the relevant information in a file. It had been discovered by the new headmaster, and so he now held it in his hands in front of Severus and Hermione.

"Apparently, Garret Geoff, the last man in charge of this experiment, retired a few days ago, and he contacted me, expressing a desire for you, Severus, to continue his work. Naturally, I assumed that as his assistant, Hermione, you would also be involved in this project if Severus accepts. If he does not accept, however, the experiment will be at an end. Mr. Geoff absolutely refuses to relinquish these records to anyone other than the Hogwarts staff. So, what do you say? Will you accept?"

"Well, of course he accepts. What other choice is –"she was cut off by the Potions master.

"No," Severus said.

The headmaster raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. Hermione turned to him in complete shock.

"What?" she asked, incredulous.

"I said no, Miss Granger," he replied.

"You can't be serious, Severus," she said, emphasizing his name. She would not allow him to bully her by resorting to their previous teacher/student relationship. She was an adult now, and he needed to respect that.

"Actually, I'm quite serious; I have enough work to do as it is. Poppy has me doing so many healing and sleeping potions that you would think she needed them to get her through the next century; the ministry has seen fit to give me dozens of unimportant and very tedious projects; also, don't forget that teaching fourteen different groups of students a few times a week is not exactly an easy task; and to top it all off, I now have to make up a lycanthropy brew for every full moon as well," he said, looking disapprovingly at the headmaster. It was no secret that he disliked the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. "So, no. I'm afraid that I just don't have the time or the energy to work on something as delicate as this."

"But you have me to help you now," Hermione pointed out.

"Yes, and with all of the mistakes you make, everything takes me twice as much time as it should," he replied with a sneer.

Her eyes flared as she trembled in anger. "Well, maybe if YOU were a better teacher, I wouldn't make any mistakes!"

His face became downright menacing after that. He seemed about to say something and then changed his mind. Without another word, he spun around on his heel and left the office. There was an awkward silence in the room for a few moments before Hermione gave the headmaster a tight-lipped smile. The smile faded as an idea took hold of her.

"Give me the information," she said, suddenly very determined. "I'm part of the staff at Hogwarts. I'll do it myself."

He hesitated for a moment, and then slowly nodded and handed her the large pile of papers.

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Something was wrong with Hermione, Severus reflected. True, they hadn't spoken once in the week since he'd been asked to take over Mr. Geoff's work, but he sensed that there was more to it than that. She looked tired all of the time, like she rarely slept. It was as though she was a sort of stressed-out zombie. But it made no sense – if anything, he gave her less work to do every evening than before.

When she arrived to his class once again with deep shadows under her eyes, he decided that it was time to investigate.

After they finished their work for the night, he followed her as she made her way sleepily to her new chambers near the dungeons. She flicked the ear of the gargoyle guarding her room, uttered the password, and stepped inside as a portion of the stone wall moved to allow her entrance. He stood outside for a few minutes, feeling extremely foolish. She was probably just having trouble sleeping. The next day, he decided, he would offer her some of his sleeping brew. Shaking his head at his own impetuousness, he retired to his own chambers.

After two hours spent trying to sleep, Severus finally decided to resort to the brew himself. For some reason, he was having more and more trouble sleeping these days, and he was becoming more and more afraid that it was due to his pretty assistant. Quietly, he rose out of his bed and made his way to the laboratory adjoining his classroom.

At the door, he paused. Once again, the door was slightly ajar. He didn't even bother to remove his wand this time. He was fairly certain that he knew who was inside. Sure enough, when he entered, the connecting door to the lab was open and he could clearly make out the golden-brown hair completely unique to Hermione Granger. It seemed to capture the light in its many silky strands to reflect an ethereal glow across the room. He shook his head to cast out images of that long, beautiful hair flowing over his naked body. He needed to concentrate.

In a few quick strides, he reached the lab and saw the object of his fantasies throw down her quill in frustration, splattering ink on herself, but not on the papers before her. He thought absently that she must have spelled them beforehand. She then proceeded to bury her face in her hands.

"And just what, may I ask, are you doing?" he asked, though he now had a fairly good idea of what it was.

"Nothing more than what you would be doing, if you were any less of a prick," she responded without lifting her head from her hands. She had felt the man's powerful presence as soon as he'd walked into the classroom. She'd hoped to get some more work done before he discovered her nightly whereabouts, but there was nothing she could do now. He would just have to deal with her working on this project, because she had absolutely no intention of stopping.

"What did you call me?" he asked, slowly advancing on her, though she still hadn't looked up at him. Only when he was inches away from her did she bother to lift her head in his direction, and then he was greeted by her icy cold glare.

"I called you a prick, and that's being kind. You would abandon good people to a horrid fate caused by nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time, simply because you think you're too busy! And I know that's not even true, because whether you want to admit it or not, with my help, you work only half as long every night as you used to!" she was shouting in his face with anger.

Severus felt his jaw harden with his own anger. "Well, for your information, Miss Know-It-All, I never needed an assistant anyway. I did everything just fine on my own. I just felt sorry for you, because you proved to be an incompetent teacher. So, quit flattering yourself, you pathetic half-wit!" he thundered.

Arms shaking with rage, she shoved him away from her with all of her strength and then reached behind her for the first thing her hand made contact with. She picked up the empty flask and hurled it at him. The throw went wild and smashed against the wall next to him. Still furious, she grabbed another and aimed this time.

Severus ducked just in time as the glass sailed over his head and shattered into a million pieces behind him. If he hadn't moved, it would have hit him squarely on the head. Obviously bent on murdering him, she hurled herself at him, arms raised to pound into his skull. Thinking fast, he grabbed her wrists and used all of his strength to wrestle her over to the couch. There, he held her down with his weight, resting heavily on her legs to prevent her from kicking him in a most unpleasant manner, and keeping a death grip on her arms.

He felt his own anger grow. How dare she attack him like this? Their faces were but a breath away from each other, and they glared deeply into each other's eyes. He was certain that they would happily have killed one another in that moment. However, despite his fury, he felt that familiar desire spring up within him. How was it possible that he still wanted her, even after she had infuriated him so?

She opened her mouth to scream, and suddenly he found himself closing the distance between them and placing his lips firmly on hers. Dimly, he told himself that this was wrong, but he didn't care. He knew in that instant that this was why he couldn't sleep. This was what he had been longing for. This was. . . perfect.

After a few moments, he forced himself to give her a chance to end their kiss by letting her wrists go. She seemed to hesitate before slowly sliding her arms around him and pulling him closer to her. His surprise at this couldn't have been greater if she had called him a hippogriff. He was certain that she hated him. However, he was not usually one to over-analyze a situation that favored him. Carefully, he teased her mouth open with his tongue and she allowed him entrance.

The taste of her was so sweet, so amazing, that he couldn't help but shiver in pleasure. He found himself wondering what doing more would be like if a simple kiss would elicit such a reaction from his body. He had to admit, though, that this kiss was far from simple as the adrenaline from their anger now fueled their passion. Their tongues moved vigorously against one another as they each hungered for more.

A deep moan escaped from her throat, and suddenly he knew that if it didn't end now, it wouldn't end at all until it was too late. Besides, what was he doing? A man, twice her age, making sudden moves on her like he was still a schoolboy? It was unthinkable, not to mention unforgivable. Self-loathing rose within him as he pulled away from the young beauty and stood, shaking.

She stared up at him, surprise and disappointment written on her features. He knew in that instant that he didn't deserve her. He never had and never would. She was far too young and beautiful for the likes of him.

Desperate for her not to see his inner turmoil, he resorted to his last defense. He inclined his head slightly in a mocking fashion. "I apologize, Miss Granger. My behavior tonight has been inexcusable. Do forgive me."

Then he turned away from her and strode off toward his own chambers, once again completely forgetting about the sleeping brew he had come for.


	5. The Next Day

Disclaimer: I own nothing. As in, none of the characters belong to me, nor the setting. Just the twisted plot.

Don't Cry – Chapter 5

By, Angelic Rosethorn

Hermione continued to stare at the empty doorway long after he had left. Completely unaware of her actions, she slowly moved her shaking hand to lightly cover her still-heated lips. Then, gradually, the fog surrounding her receded. She blinked rapidly for a few seconds before collapsing in a heap against the incredibly soft couch with a large sigh. Her sexual encounters with Ron during their relationship hadn't even come close to igniting the passion within her as this had, and it was only a kiss! She quaked with thoughts of what more would be like with him. Mentally, she pushed herself away from this line of thinking. She had mostly avoided becoming a love-struck maniac during her years as a student, and most certainly wouldn't allow that to happen now. She was the hard-as-nails scholar, and she could very well analyze this situation without fantasizing about the potion's master. She hoped.

She wasn't at all concerned about the things he'd said to her – it was just his way. True, while she'd been a student, it had seemed that he hated her, but when she became his assistant, she'd seen those flashes of silent approval and once and awhile. . . something more. Something that she also felt on occasion. It was really a puzzle, actually. A puzzle that seemed to grow more tangled as she tried to unravel it.

When his hand would accidentally brush hers, she'd feel her face flush and her heart race. Sometimes she found herself just staring at him without realizing it until minutes later. Amazingly, he hadn't seemed to notice. Perhaps it was because he was trying to mask his own feeling, she reflected wryly. The puzzle of it was, though, where had these feelings come from? He was probably close to twenty years her senior, if not more. His hair, while precisely the length she found quite attractive, was so greasy that she wondered if he ever actually took the time to wash it. He was dark and as a general rule spoke with more than a hint of venom in his voice.

Yet, for some reason, she found herself looking past the cruel remarks that were his defense against the world, and really seeing the man beneath. And what she saw was just a lonely man who buried his troubles in the two things he really cared about – spells and potions. Recent encounters had shown her another dimension of him as well. As much as he tried to hide it, he was truly a passionate person. That, she could relate to, as she saw the same quality in herself. Passionate in school, passionate in hatred, and passionate in love.

She came to fully understand that passion when she had physically thrown herself at Severus. Through her anger there had been that undercurrent of excitement, of anticipation. It was as though she had instinctively known his reaction. And he most certainly didn't disappoint, except. . . he left. She knew he enjoyed it; she could feel his excitement through his robes pressed against her thigh. So why had he left?

Frowning, she thought about his expression when he'd pulled away. She just couldn't place what had gone through his eyes before his defensive mask of cruelty had locked into place. She shook her head to clear it. One thing for sure was that tomorrow evening, he would have two things to answer to: Why did he turn from this project in the first place? And why did he leave?

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Severus was oblivious to his assistant's reflections a few doors down the corridor; he was too busy trying to fight off the biting guilt. The whole thing was so wrong, but God help him, he'd liked it. The mere thought of the softness of her lips, the sweet taste of her mouth, and the warm smoothness of her skin made the blood pulsate through his powerful erection harder than ever. He wanted her so badly.

He took a deep breath and forced his thoughts away from what had just happened. If only she had just gone to bed. Why did she have to do that God-forsaken project? Why couldn't she just leave well enough alone? He'd turned down the project for a reason.

After his first time as a Death Eater, his guilt drove him to begin his own research to discover a cure for Cruciatus victims. That was when the nightmares began. Night after night, the victims got their revenge upon him in unspeakable ways. He tried to escape them, but they hunted him down and eventually caught him in the end.

As soon as he stopped the research, the nightmares ended. So, he abandoned the entire idea and stored the pages of work far from his sight. As much as he wanted to help those people, the demons had begun to haunt him during the day as well as night and he could do no good if he ended up in St. Mungo's himself.

He had refused projects before, so he figured that it wouldn't draw much comment when he turned this one down. What he hadn't counted on was Hermione's fervent exclamation of disgust and disbelief. For her sake, he had pulled out his old research materials and tried to go over them that night, but as before, the nightmares returned. He couldn't explain it, but he knew that he could not accept the job.

He figured that even though she had been angry with him, she would get over it eventually and let it go. He had no idea that she was going to take on the damned project herself! The thing was very taxing for one who was highly experienced with potions like him. She was only a young apprentice. No wonder she always looked so strained!

Why was she so adamant about this anyway? It was as though it was personal. Who could she possibly know in St. Mungo's? Longbottom! The answer seemed to slam into his skull. Of course! Her friend's parents were in there, suffering from the same malady that she was trying to cure. However, he knew that she could never find the answer alone. She was smart; in fact, probably as smart or more so than he had been at her age, but she was so inexperienced. There were so many details she hadn't learned yet. And as it was painfully obvious that she wasn't going to give up, he was going to have to help her. It didn't matter if he had to take potions to send him into oblivion every night and risk getting addicted to them; he would give her all of the help she needed.

The reaction surprised him. If it had been anyone else, he would have let them fend for themselves. However, he just couldn't stand the thought of her struggling so hard all by herself and getting about a third of the sleep her body needed. How long could she go on like that before she collapsed of exhaustion? He couldn't let that happen to her.

At that thought, he knew something was wrong. This was no mere physical attraction. That had caused his passionate response less than an hour before, but the thoughts running through his head now were far from physical or sexual. He really cared about her. Damn him, he was falling in love with the girl!

What was he going to do now? She probably hated him for his little display tonight. How could he even approach her? After all, he had taken advantage of her and then in his own panic acted like it was her fault! He toyed briefly with the idea of just firing her from her position as his assistant, but he knew that he could never be so cowardly and cruel to this woman. He would have to apologize and explain the best way he could. He couldn't tell her he loved her, but he could at least be honest about everything else. With this in mind, he finally let himself fall asleep.

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At one point the night before, Hermione had finally dragged herself to her own chambers and gotten some sleep, though her dreams were peppered with images of Severus' rapturous face as he kissed her. When she woke up a few hours later, she knew that thoughts of the potions master were arousing her far more than they ought to. She would have to tread carefully around him if he could create such feelings within her.

She decided to skip breakfast and instead go to the lab and clean up the mess she'd abandoned the night before. She yawned groggily as she made her way to her bathroom to shower and clean up. For some reason, her appearance mattered more to her today than it had over the last week. With pleasure, she rinsed all of the dirt and grime from her neglected hair and let the hot water flow over her body.

The hot shower seemed to restore her former self that had been missing for the past few days. As she hurriedly dried herself off, she decided that a simple ponytail would be sufficient for the day. She was getting a bit tired of braids. So, finally dressed and ready to go, she grabbed her wand and headed over to the potions lab.

And was greeted by the sight of the potions master himself, straightening some supplies by hand and spelling the rest into place with his wand. Apparently, he'd had the same idea as she had. Amazingly, for once, he appeared clean. The result was somewhat staggering, as his hair, rather than being greasy and disgusting now appeared soft and silky in the torchlight of the room. She wasn't sure if it was just the hair or some aftereffect of the night before, but she found that she literally couldn't pull her gaze away from him.

It was all a bit embarrassing, as she'd seen plenty of good-looking men before and scarcely batted an eyelash, but she was now acting like she had when she'd had her schoolgirl crush on Gilderoy Lockhart. Except, she could see now just how fake that man had been. This man before her was far more than just a nice smile; in fact, most people wouldn't say that he was handsome at all, with his long nose and very pale skin, but to her they all seemed to accent the mystery surrounding him. A mystery that she definitely wanted to solve.

Clearing her throat to alert him to her presence, she smiled when he turned to her. She figured that a smile couldn't hurt to make him feel more comfortable after last night. It seemed to have the desired effect, because he didn't scowl at her like she expected him to.

"Good morning," he said to her, his face perfectly composed while he looked her in the eyes as though he were trying to read her thoughts.

"Hello," she said carefully. Then she sighed and decided to skip small talk and go straight to the point. "Why won't you work on the project, Severus?"

He looked at her silently for a few moments, and then said matter-of-factly, "I plan to work on it tonight. Do you plan to join me?"

She stared at him, open-mouthed with shock. As soon as she recovered her wits, she replied, "But you said you weren't going to do it! When did you change your mind?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Perhaps I had planned to do it all along but was just testing to see how much I could trust my new assistant to do what is asked."

Her eyes narrowed. "You weren't going to do it, and you know it, so stop feeding me lame excuses. Now tell me, when, or rather, why did you change your mind?"

Because for some unknown reason, I care about you too much to let you do it yourself, he thought to himself. However, all he allowed himself to say was, "Because you are too inexperienced to do it yourself and I refuse to have a battle like last night again with you. So, now answer my question, do you plan to join me?"

"Of course. . ." she responded, somewhat confused. Then she shrugged, "Well, since you seem to have already cleaned up, I should go work on that sleeping brew for Poppy while you teach your classes. So. . . I'll see you tonight, then?" He nodded an affirmative. She turned, about to leave the room, then paused. She turned around again and gave him a small smile, "And by the way, thanks." Amazingly, he gave her a tiny smile in return.

"You're welcome," he said to himself quietly, after she had turned and left the room.

Evening swiftly came, and after a quick supper, the two met up in Severus' lab. "Well," he said. "I can see that you've made some surprisingly intelligent guesses as to what the potion may be, but if you continue simple trial and error, you will end up like Dr. Geoff and become too old to work on this long before it is finished. The best way to go about it would be to finish the research and then analyze previous tests to find out exactly what went wrong. It still may take a long time, but at least we would know for sure that we were on the right track."

She nodded, surprised that even though he was criticizing her work, she didn't feel like an errant schoolgirl as before. She felt as though instead he was treating her like an equal, which she knew that he did with few of the other professors.

He presented her with a stack of leather bound books with the instruction to start reading. They both sat on his comfortable couch, and she could tell that he was having as much trouble concentrating as she. She couldn't stop thinking about the last time they'd been on this couch. Furious with herself for being so weak-minded, she forced herself to bring her mind back to the subject at hand. People's lives were at stake and all she could do was think about a simple kiss.

With this in mind, she managed to read through at least a dozen pages about the Cruciatus curse itself before finding something that could be remotely useful. "Look here. It says that the curse, when applied too vigorously for too long, can force the victim to willingly enter a state of mind where pain no longer exists," she said, pointing to the passage. She had guessed this, but it was nice to see her theory proven in print.

Severus leaned in closer to scan the page. She couldn't help but stare at his concentrating face as he read. She didn't even realize that the book was slipping through her hands until it landed on the floor with a thud. She jumped and immediately leaned down to pick it up, face burning with embarrassment. Unfortunately, Severus seemed to have the same idea. They didn't knock heads, but it was a near miss resulting in her leaning too far over and falling off of the couch.

She closed her eyes in humiliation; could this possibly get any worse? Apparently, it could get much worse, because with a slight chuckle, he grabbed her hand and lifted her up to land unceremoniously in his lap. The chuckle died in his throat as she looked up at him. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. She couldn't lie to him or herself any longer.

"I don't know how to say this, but. . . well. . . for some reason. . . even though it might be wrong. . . I. . ."

She never got the chance to finish, as he slowly lowered his mouth onto hers and gave her the longest, sweetest, and most amazing kiss she had ever experienced. Last night was nothing compared to this, because before everything was generated by their adrenaline. This was generated by pure lust. Then all thoughts were driven out of her head as he ran a thumb over her left nipple, causing her to gasp with pleasure. A mere touch, and she was ready to go over the edge. How could he do this to her?

However, her gasp pulled Severus out of the fog he'd been drowning in ever since she'd looked up at him. His actions had been pulled from pure instinct and he was shocked by what he was doing. As much as he reveled in touching her like this, it was wrong, and he refused to take advantage of her. His slowly blossoming love for her wouldn't let him.

Much to Hermione's disappointment, he broke their kiss and lifted her off of his lap, setting her down next to him before he rose. He stared down at her, his expression bleak rather than cruel. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I should never have let that happen." She could tell that this time his apology was completely sincere.

Then he turned and walked out on her once again. However, this time, she wasn't about to just let him leave. She wanted answers, and she planned to get them. She stood up, smoothed her robes, and followed him.

She watched as he tapped a gargoyle similar to her own and she took note of the password he said before entering his own chambers. As soon as the door closed behind him, she moved up to the statue, tapped it in the same way he had and said the password. As she stepped over the threshold, she smiled. This time, he would have nowhere to run.

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A/N: Well, there it is. No matter how many times it happens, I'm still always amazed when a story writes itself like this. I had actually pictured the entire thing much differently in my mind, but I still like how it's going. I hope you do too!


	6. New Love

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters in the story, nor the setting, nor the plot really, because unfortunately, all of the original ideas for S/H have pretty much been taken. This is just my own little twist.

Don't Cry – Chapter 6

By Angelic Rosethorn

Hermione stepped into the first room of Severus' chambers and looked around, intrigued. To all appearances, this was his sitting room. It was decorated tastefully, but was a bit bare. In fact the walls and floor were so bare that she ought to feel cold just standing in here, but she didn't. She supposed that it must have to do with the roaring fire in the large grate in front of two massive chairs.

Yes, this man definitely needed some decoration in here. Maybe a few hangings on the walls, a rug here and there, even a coffee table. As it was, there were just the chairs, a chess set on a table in the corner, and a large bookcase along the wall next to the chess set. She smiled at the old saying that rose into her mind: "It needs a woman's touch." She shook her head at her nonsense and walked over to one of the two doors leading off from this room.

She gaped when she saw that she had entered a kitchen. Why on earth did he need his own kitchen? It wasn't as if the house elves didn't feed the staff well enough. But then, who was she to question it? It wasn't often that a girl came upon a man who liked to cook, she thought wickedly, as she completely hated it.

With that thought, she left the kitchen and tried the other door.

Severus barely managed to hold the demons at bay for the few seconds it took to reach his chambers. Coupled with the guilt of taking advantage of Hermione, the ready nightmares were threatening to rip apart his skull from the inside. As soon as he reached his room, he threw off his robes and the shirt beneath them. He grabbed the waiting vial of incredibly potent sleeping brew next to his bed and tossed it down his throat. There was scarcely time to climb into bed before he was knocked out cold.

When Hermione entered his bedchamber, what she saw changed her triumphant smile to a rueful grin. It would seem that there was indeed a way for him to escape her questions. He was completely dead to the world, and no amount of questioning would wake him. With a sigh, she was about to leave, and then she stopped.

Did she dare? A sly smile crept over her features. If she did what she was thinking, it would certainly be the most daring thing she'd ever done. No, she couldn't possibly. She took a deep breath and began to turn again before remembering what Harry kept telling her. He thought that she should take some chances and live for the moment. Well, this time, she decided, she was going to do it.

She turned back to the sleeping man and took a deep breath before gingerly slipping out of her own robes and tossing them to the floor. She wore a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Not exactly romantic, but then again, unless she wanted to be without clothes, she really didn't have much of a choice. Shaking her head at her own impulsive folly she crossed the room to his bed and pulled back the covers.

Abruptly, she drew in a sharp breath at the sight of his bare chest. He may have neglected his appearance for years, but it certainly didn't seem to have any ill effects on his body. His upper body was so finely chiseled that if she didn't know better, she would say he worked out on a regular basis. How did the potions master manage to have the body of an athlete? Someday if she ever got up the nerve, maybe she would ask him.

In the meantime, she climbed into the spacious bed, careful not to disturb him. She needn't have wasted the effort, however, because nothing short of a large explosion would have wakened him anyway.

Somewhere in the back of her exhausted mind, she dimly recognized his good taste in linens for the bed. She wasn't sure what she expected, but the soft black sheets were incredibly comfortable, as was the mattress beneath her. With a sigh of contentment, she dropped off into sleep almost immediately.

Severus finally stirred as the potion began to wear off. He hadn't had a single nightmare, and woke feeling surprisingly refreshed. He stretched, ready to start a new day. Then he stopped dead as his arm bumped against something suspiciously like soft flesh. He turned his head and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw his gorgeous assistant lying next to him. "What the devil?" he said, shocked.

Shaken awake by his exclamation, Hermione groaned and opened her eyes. She looked up at his surprised face and blinked at him sleepily. "Hi," she said a bit sheepishly.

Severus closed and opened his eyes several times, trying to understand what she was doing in his bed with him. Had they. . . no, of course not, he definitely would have remembered that! So, what was she doing here?

"Um. . . if you don't mind my asking, Hermione. . . what on earth are you doing in my bed?" he asked.

"Well, I followed you into your room last night to talk to you, but when I got here, you were already asleep. So. . . here I am," she said rather matter-of-factly, as if what she was saying explained everything. In his opinion, it didn't explain a damned thing.

"But, why are you in my BED? Why didn't you just go back to your own chambers?" he asked, still trying to get his mind around the fact that he had just shared his bed with her and hadn't even been conscious. Talk about disappointing.

"Well, your bed looked all comfortable, and I was tired, and. . ." she blushed and turned away. How do you tell your former professor that he looked too tempting, even asleep, to just leave?

"And what?" he prodded.

"And I took one look at you lying there and knew that there was no one else I would rather share a bed with," she finished. There, she'd said it. Even if he rejected her again, at least she had gotten her feelings out in the open.

For a long moment there was nothing but silence. Oh great, she thought, he's trying to think of some way to gently tell me that what I'm feeling is just puppy love and he would never want to be with someone as young and pathetic as me. Just as she was about to just get up and leave, he spoke.

"Are you serious?" What was he thinking? Of course she wasn't serious! What on earth would a woman like her want with an old, greasy man like him? No girl had ever wanted him like that. Of course he'd had girlfriends, but they only wanted him for the power he had wielded as a Death Eater. When he had switched his loyalties away from the Dark Lord, no woman had come near him. Most of the time he had even liked it better that way. But he didn't think he could stand being rejected by Hermione, not when he was still trying to decide exactly what he felt for her.

Abruptly, he shook his head and sat on the edge of the bed with his back to her, "Never mind. I don't know what you were actually doing in here, but don't expect me to believe that you actually desired me so much that you wanted to sleep with me. Now leave an old man alone to get ready for his first class."

Hermione's eyebrows nearly shot out of her head as he spoke to her. Was he serious? Did he really consider himself an old man? "You may be a lot of things: infuriating, frustrating, arrogant, and sharp-tongued, but you certainly aren't old."

He stiffened, "Well, if I'm so 'infuriating' then why the bloody hell were you so anxious to become my assistant in the first place? I'm sure there were plenty of other people who would have welcomed the chance to have an assistant; even an apparently half-witted one like you."

"Stop being stupid! I know you didn't mean that. All of those things I said about you just make you the way you are," she paused. "If you weren't those things, you wouldn't be the Severus Snape I admire and respect."

"Yes, if I wasn't those things, I would be perfect, like your hero, Potter," he muttered darkly.

"Argh! Don't you ever hear a single word I say? I certainly wasn't comparing you to Harry! I'm saying that I love you just the way you are, you ninny!" she practically shouted at his back, before quickly clamping her hand over her mouth. But it was too late. She really hadn't meant to say that, but he drove her crazy, always twisting her words around; it had just popped out.

"What did you just say?" he asked, spinning around.

"Um. . . I called you a ninny?" she answered, cringing.

"No, no, before that. What did you say?"

She sighed, it looked like she wasn't going to get out of this one. Admitting to lust wasn't really that big of a deal, but love? Oh well, even though he didn't feel the same way, she might as well get it over with once and for all. Maybe she wouldn't scare him off too much.

"I think. . . I think I'm falling in love you with you, okay?" she said in a rush. "I don't know how it happened or when it happened, but it did. And even if you can't accept it, don't think you can fire me from my position as your assistant, because I'll go to the headmaster. Don't you think I won't. And. . . oh!"

That was as far as she got as he pushed her back onto the bed and began kissing her very slowly, giving her time to move away. When she didn't, he pulled back enough to murmur against her mouth, "It's a good thing you feel that way, Hermione, because no matter what I say, I'm becoming increasingly afraid that I'm falling in love with you as well."

He waited for an answer to this, but she simply pulled his head down to resume their kiss. As the kiss deepened, their tongues searched out each other's mouths as he cupped her breast with one hand and began playing with her nipple once again. This time her soft moan merely made him move his thumb faster instead of stopping. For whatever reason, she didn't loathe him like she should, and was actually enjoying this. He still didn't think he deserved her, but who was he to argue with this beauty when she said that she loved him as much as he loved her? He'd be a madman to argue.

Regretfully, after playing with her a bit more, he made himself pull back. Hermione opened her eyes and looked horrified, "You mean after all that, you're going to reject me AGAIN?"

Severus merely chuckled, "Hardly. But if we don't get moving, the third years are going to be wondering where the potions master and his lovely assistant got to."

She shook her head with a smile, "I suppose so. . . but. . . would you mind if I came back again tonight?"

"Mind? What are you, mad? Of course not. In fact, I would love for you to."


	7. Happily Ever After

Disclaimer: Not my characters, obviously.

A/N: And now for what you have all been waiting for – the good stuff. If you are easily offended by descriptive love/sex scenes, please don't read this. It's not really dirty, but it is rather descriptive. Consider this a warning for all you 10 year olds that pretend to be old enough to read mature stuff.

Don't Cry – Chapter 7

By Angelic Rosethorn

Through every single one of Snape's classes, Hermione found herself wishing she knew the spell to make time go faster. She really didn't know how she was able to sit still for hours, grading students' assignments. In fact, she would have probably bet galleons that some of the students noticed her constantly getting lost in thought, staring in the direction of the Potion's Master. Goodness, but discretion was obviously not one of her strong suits. She would need to take a few lessons from Severus if this entire thing was going to continue. She certainly didn't need everyone in the school knowing what was going on. Talk about humiliating for them both. . .

She suddenly had horrible thoughts: students giggling at them every time they passed by; Severus furious with her for being so transparent; Severus firing her as assistant and denying that anything had happened between them; Hermione being alone all over again. She was so lost in her panicked daydream that she completely missed the fact that all of the students were suddenly gone and the man she was thinking about was looking down at her questioningly.

Her face turned bright red as Severus raised his eyebrows and smiled. "I'm not sure grading papers in the classroom today was the best idea. Normally it's not a big deal, but today I had some trouble concentrating on teaching the class. I'm certain _someone's _bound to notice that I failed to take a single point from Gryffindor all day."

Relieved, she smiled back at him, glad he'd had trouble paying attention too. "Well, this morning I thought it would be a good idea, so I could watch you teaching, but about halfway through the day I figured out that I was pretty much getting nothing done as far as these essays."

He shrugged, unconcerned. There was plenty of time to grade essays in the evenings, even if they were working on this project. Which reminded him of something important. "Hermione. . . I need to talk to you about something before we go up to dinner."

Her smile froze. Was he actually going to get angry at her for being so obvious? How could he very well get angry at her when he as much as admitted that he had been paying attention to her all day too? This wasn't at all fair, and she was certainly going to tell him so.

"It's about this pet project we are going to be working on," he started. All of her righteous indignation deflated at his words. I've really got to stop this whole jumping-to-conclusions thing, she thought to herself.

She finally found her voice and asked, "What about it?"

He hadn't been sure how to explain the nightmares and plaguing demons, so he simply started from the beginning, telling her what had happened years before, but sparing her most of the gory details. As his story progressed, he saw her face go from concern to guilt. Even though he explained to her that it wasn't her fault she'd gotten him involved in it, that she certainly couldn't have been expected to know, she obviously still felt responsible for it. It figured she would have to be so much of a Gryffindor.

"Severus. . . I'm so sorry I threw all this at you. I had no right to do it. You said you didn't want to do the project, and I shouldn't have questioned it. You've been through so much. . ." she suddenly looked like she was going to cry again.

Alarmed, Severus started at her open-mouthed. "Do you hear yourself?? How on earth could you have known about any of this?? Merlin's Beard, Hermione, why are you making so much of this? I only told you so you would know what to expect. Not to blame you!"

Her concern vanished into thin air. Now he was talking down to her again! She had thought they were past this. Didn't an invitation to his bed indicate that he at least somewhat thought of her as an equal? And now he thought he could just treat her like she was an overreacting child? Well, he was the one being childish, thinking she would just feel nothing at all when he told her that he was being plagued by nightmares because of her. Good God, this man was exasperating.

"Well, I'm sorry I was being too much of a _woman _for you. You obviously can't handle it. I'd invite you to have dinner with me, but I'm sure my emotional demeanor would give you indigestion!" and with that, she whirled around and left him standing alone, dumbfounded.

What on earth had just happened??

----------

Severus wasn't sure what had gone wrong earlier in the classroom, but he was determined that it wouldn't happen again. He was just going to have to learn where he should step carefully when it came to Hermione, otherwise he was going to lose what he had so recently gained. She was definitely worth figuring out. For now, he was going with the old standby: flowers. It was the universal gesture of apology when men screwed up, which he had obviously done.

After only a short time waiting in the lab, a frowning Hermione made her way through the door. The sight of him standing by the couch, holding the bouquet of roses, looking more than a bit uncomfortable, made her heart melt. How on earth could she stay mad at him after that? She smiled shyly, still not fully believing that all of this could be happening. Was this _really_ Severus Snape, the scary professor? Holding out flowers for _her?_

He crossed the room and gave them to her, saying an awkward, "I'm sorry."

Touched, she took the flowers and used her wand to create a vase for them. She, too, apologized for the earlier scene and assured him that all was forgiven and forgotten. She then proceeded to get out her bag of notes so they could get some work started on the potion. Severus took her cue and gathered his things together so they could get down to work and pretend like nothing had happened.

This worked for approximately five minutes. All he did was turn to her to ask a simple question and suddenly his mouth was on hers, his tongue demanding entrance to her mouth. And just like that, the work was all forgotten. Gasping for air, Hermione pulled away to grab her wand and vanish everything on the table before it went everywhere in their enthusiasm. Severus barely had time for an amused chuckle at her actions before he was thrown backwards onto the table with the help of her wand. In no time, she was on top of him, straddling his hips and efficiently unbuttoning her robes. Of course, she was wearing that same halter top and skirt beneath them, making him even harder than he had been at the sight of her.

He reached up to bring her down to his level so he could kiss her more, showing her how very desperate he was for her. Never, ever in his life had he wanted something more than he wanted this woman on top of him. He rolled them over so that he was on top, able to now unbutton his own robes. He managed to get them off without lifting his lips from hers. Now he was at a disadvantage. She was still fully clothed, and he was wearing nearly nothing. Only the black boxers he wore kept her from seeing the whole of his naked body. He would need to fix that soon.

His lips began to stray from hers, moving down to her neck, kissing her gently and then moving his tongue in little circles. She couldn't keep her body still while he was doing this. Her hips bucked every time his tongue touched her sensitive skin. When he moved slowly up to her ear she was positively writhing in pleasure. The sensations were building up so much that she thought she would drown in them. He had to stop; it was simply too much torture for her body.

Blindly, she reached down to stroke him through his boxers. His tongue stopped as his entire body shuddered at her touch. It was the most amazing thing he had ever felt. Somehow, he managed to gain control of his movements again and resumed licking every inch of her skin that he had access to. But as her hand continued to stroke him, he knew it was not enough. He had to taste more of her. He pulled away for just long enough to start pulling her shirt over her head. For a moment he simply stared at her body, positive that he had never seen anything so beautiful. And then she touched him again and he attacked her nipples with his tongue in earnest, licking in quick little circles and sucking one while stroking the other with his fingers.

"Oh god, Severus," she whispered, unable to say more.

Finally he stopped for a moment to take a breath, and she made her move, flipping them over once more and sliding down his body before he could stop her. Without hesitation, she removed his boxers and wrapped her hand around him, squeezing gently. "Do you like that, Severus?" she purred.

Through gasps of pleasure he managed, "Yes, very much."

"Then I bet you'll like this even more," she said before wrapping her mouth around him in place of her hand. His deep moans gave her the answer she was looking for. She began to lick everywhere from the tip to the base, covering him with her saliva and then taking him into her mouth as far as she could. It turned out that he was a bit on the large side, which made this all the better for her. This licking and sucking went on for what seemed like an eternity to Severus before he decided to give her a taste of her own medicine, so to speak.

"If you are going to continue this, I insist that you enjoy this as much as me. Take off whatever you have under your skirt," he said, a bit unsteadily.

She looked up at him impishly, "I'm not wearing anything under it."

"Then come up here and turn around so I can give you as much pleasure as you're giving me."

She looked unsure for a moment and then gave in, what did she really have to lose? She was already half-naked in front of him, giving him a blow-job.

She turned around and lifted her skirt, spreading her thighs for him, and then continued where she had left off, making him moan against her sex as he licked her. It was the most delicious feeling and she found herself sucking him with vigor to elicit that response as much as possible. It wasn't long before her body couldn't take it anymore and she found herself screaming his name as she came hard around his tongue. She collapsed against him, temporarily drained of energy from the strength of her climax.

After a moment, Severus gently lifted both of them up and turned her around so they were in the missionary position. Now was the time. Obviously she was no novice at this, so there was little danger that she was a virgin, and now he knew that she was well ready for him. He pushed into her gently once, then twice, and then was fully inside of her. He stayed there for a second, letting her get used to the feel of him. She stared up into his eyes with such love that he knew that nothing could be more perfect than this. Then he started a gentle rhythm that slowly increased as their moans got louder and more passionate. As he neared the point of climax, he was pumping in and out of her as fast as possible, spurred on by her whimpers of "please, please, don't stop". His thumb began to move against her clit in time to his thrusts as he was determined to see to her pleasure before his own. Finally, when he was just about to break, she let out an earth-shattering scream that pushed him over the edge into his own realm of bliss.

They lay entwined on the table for a long time, just holding one another. Severus eventually stirred, aware that he was probably making Hermione uncomfortable. They slowly got up and put on their discarded clothing. Severus then picked up his exhausted assistant and carried her to his rooms, not really giving a damn who saw them together tonight. He laid her on his bed, and crawled in next to her, ready to face his demons now that he had her love to help him. Then, suddenly she was on top of him again, smiling down wickedly. "You aren't going to sleep already, are you? We have the whole night ahead of us."

He matched her wicked smile, "Tomorrow is Saturday. We don't have to get up for days if we don't want to." Her responding laugh was cut short as he began to show her again just how wicked he was.

The End.

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A/N: So there you have it, Hermione Granger and Severus Snape live happily ever after… Or, you could fit this into J.K. Rowling's epilogue and just assume that a former Death Eater attacks Snape one day and he dies, so that Hermione goes back to Ron and _they_ live happily ever after and have a bunch of little kids. You, the reader, get to choose. I like my version better, but I guess I'm biased:-) So, now all that's left is for you to review! Thanks!


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